Means for circulating glass in gathering basins



March 28, 1933. McNlsH 1,903,223

MEANS FOR CIRCULATING GLASS IN GATHERING BASINS Filed Sept. 5, 1931 Patented Mar; 28, 1933 uirao STATES PATENT orrrca ALEXANDER FRANCIS MCNISE, OJl' PERTH, SCOTLAND, ASSIGNOB OI ONE- ELL! TO JOHN HONCRIE'FF LIMITED, 015' IPEETH, SCOTLAND mus ma cmccnarme crass IN Gamma Application filed September 8, 1831, Serial No. 580,880, and in Great Britain September 18, 1880.

This invention relates to an improved method of and apparatus for circulating molten glass in a gathering basin associated with a glass furnace or like glass melting pot or tank, charges of glass being periodically withdrawn from the gathering basin. The invention consists in conveying the glass through the gathering basin in successive charges by means of a series of pockets open at one side for the lateral entry of the glass from the furnace, and each containing an adequate quantity for su plying a gathering device, the several poo ets belng moved stepwise through the gathering basin so that they are successively moved into a gathering position and remain in such position while glass is being athered, the remaining glass in the pocket eing finally returned to the furnace through the open side of the pocket. The invention further consists in moving the charges of glass through the basin in an orbital path and wiping the glass laterally out of the pockets through the open side thereof in order to clear the pockets of partially cooled glass as they successively leave the gathering position, in order that the partially cooled glass may be swept laterally out of the orbital path and return to the furnace, leaving the pockets ready for the lateral reception of a fresh quantity of glass from the furnace.

The invention also consists in separating the glass intoa series of separate successive charges, as it enters the gathering basin from the furnace, by the scooping action of scoops, buckets or like members open laterally and moved stepwise through the gathering basin in an orbital path.

This method avoids sur as or waves in the mass of glass at the gathering station and also ensures complete removal of the partially cooled glass from the athering position be fore the next gather ta es place, each succes-v sive gathering operation taking place in a fresh pocketful of glass. c

In one manner of carrying out the invention,'the gathering basin is open to the furnace at its inner end and at its outer end its inner wall is formed into semi-circular or substantially semi-circular shape in plan View.

The basin may widen gradually from the semi-circular portion towards the furnace. Within the basin and rotatabiy mounted upon a vertical axis is a scoop wheel, star wheel or like rotary member havin a series of pockets, recesses or cavities forme laterally in its pcriphery, said pockets being open at one side semi-circular wall of the basin to enable glass 4 1n the said space to remain sufiiciently warm. The scoop member ma alternatively be in the form of an upright uted cylinder, the flutes or pockets being relatively wide and concave in plan view and being either oqen or closed at the bottom. The scoop whee star wheel, rotary cylinder or like rotary member may have tree or more arms or partitions, thus providinga series of three or more open-sided pockets.

If the pockets are closed at their lower ends, the scoop wheel, star wheel or cylinder or l1ke rotary member may be alternately raised and lowered, so as to lower the 00kets. mto the molten glass entering the asin and reuse the glass up to the gathering device, thus enabling the apparatus to be independent of the level of the glass in the furnace being maintained nearly constant. The rotary member may be raised and lowered by any suitable gearing.

The star wheel or like rotar member is intermittently rotated in one irection and if necessary may be raised and lowered by means of any suitable gearing, in such manner that each pocket is brought successively into a position midway of the semi-circular bend in the gathering basin, in which osition glass is gathered from the pocket. uring or immediately before or after the gathering operation, the glassin the pocket (or in one oithe pockets) which is situated in advance of the gathering position is swept wheel, star wheel or like rotary laterally out of the ocket into the furnace.-

A fresh quantity 0 glass also flows from the furnace laterally into the pocket (or one of the pockets) behind the gathering position.

The lass may be swept laterally out of the poo ets by means oi a wiper orsweep arm projecting radially from an upright shaft, the wiper or sweep arm being so positioned as to be capable oi sweeping throngthe pocket after it has left the gathering position and is in a position in which it is open to the furnace. To enable the wiper or sweep arm to be moved clear of the pcriphery of the scoop wheel or like rotary member during the rotation of the latter, the sweep shaft may be situated just clear of the circular path of the scoop wheel or like member and the sweep arm may be given either a continuous rotation, timed to sweep each pocket in succession, or it may be lifted vertically at the end oi the sweep stroke either rotated or angularly oscillated, while so lifted, to enable it to be lowered into the next pocket in readiness for the next sweep stroke.

If thescoop wheel or like member is raised and lowered to raise and lower the charge of glass, the wiper or sweep arm may be also caused to rise and fall therewith.

The star wheel or like member and the wiper or sweep arm may be driven in timed relation with the gathering devices, so that fresh charges of glass will be successively brought into the gathering position in regular sequence with and simultaneously with the movements of the gathering devices into the gathering position.

T e present invention enables the glass in the gathering basin to be completely covered in except for a small aperture at the gathering position, thus enabling the basin to be advantageously ada ted to gathering devices of the kind which move vertically downwards at the athering station and gather by suction. T e gathering basin may extend outwards to such an extent from the furnace that the scoop wheel or like member rotates entirely within the basin, in which case the wiper or sweep arm may be either rotated or given an angular oscillatory motion as already described, or the basin may be shortened to such an extent that the scoop wheel or like member travels partly within the furnace proper, in which case the wiper or sweep arm may be clear of the furnace wall and thus permit of continuous rotation of the wiper or sweep arm.

From the foregoing descrlption it will be apparent that the invention may be carried out in various ways and the accompanying drawing, to which reference is hereinafter made, is given only as one example of the manner in which the invention can be carried into effect.

neoaaes Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawing is a front view of the gathering station of a glass furnace with part of the gatherin basin broken away to show the scoop whee and wi er and with the cover of the basin remove Fig.2 is a horizontal sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 IS a horizontal sectional view on line a s-e of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the furnace 4; is provided at the front with a gathering basin 5 which is open at its inner end to the furnace and has its outer end formed by a semicircular wall 6. The interior of the basin widens out towards the furnace shown, and at one side it is provided with t verse wall or dam 7 which extend. of the basin. The front face 8 of slopes downwards until it merges i bottom of the basin 5 in order to clear the wiper in its movement hereafter described. The gathering basin 5 is supported on the cross brace 9 of an upright metal frame 10 which rests on a suitable foundation in front of the furnace. The frame 10 is suitably braced across to provide bearings for a vertical shaft 11, to the lower end of which is fixed a refractory scoop wheel 12. Freely rotatable on the shaft 11 and resting on a cross-brace 13 is a toothed quadrant 1 1 which meshes with a horizontal rack 15 movable at its ends throu h hearings in the frame 10 and adapted to e reciprocated by connection (in manner not shown) to a gathering machine in such a manner that the rack 15 makes one complete reciprocation in the interval of time in which a gathering device over the gathering basin 5 is replaced by the next succeeding gathering device. The rack 15 also meshes with a pinion 16 freely rotatable upon a vertical spindle 17 which carries at its foot a refractory wiper 18. The pinion 16 rests on the cross brace 13 and the spindle 17 is carried in hearings in the frame 10. A one-way clutch motion device of any suitable construction connects the quadrant 14 to the shaft 11 and a similar one-way clutch connects the pinion 16 to the spindle 17, the two clutches being of opposed. directions so that reciprocation of the rack in the direction of the arrow B revolves the shaft 11 while the spindle 17 does not rotate, and reciprocation of the rack 15 in the opposite direction (arrow A) rotates the spindle 17 while the shaft 11 remains stationary. As an example, a one-way clutch is shown consisting of a ratchet tooth 19 on the quadrant 14 and pinion 16 respectively, and a plurality of dogs 20 which pass through fixed collars 9.1 on the shaft 11 and spindle 17 respectively, the dogs 20 being carried by sliding while in the other direction of movement the ratchet tooth 19 will drive one of the ogs 20 before it and will thus rotate the collar 21 fixed on the shaft 11 or spindle 17.

In the construction illustrated, the scoo wheel 12 has three cavities 23 and the she t 11 is consequently arranged to turn .in the direction of the arrow in i ig. 2 through 120 degrees when the rack inches its stroke in direction of arrow ll while the shaft 17 does not rotote. The shaft 17 is arranged however'to make a complete revolution in direction of arrow in Fig. 2 when the reel: 15 molres its stroke in direction of srrow A, while the shaft ll remeins stationery. in

order to allow the wiper 18 to clear the well 7, it is elternetely roisecl and lowered, for entropic by moons of or com bar 2% on rock 15, the com bar 24: cooperating with. the end of o lever 25 fined on a stub shaft 26, which carries o lever 27 engsging s seller 28 on the spindle ll. W hen the wiper i8 is not rotetis thus raised. clear of the scoop wheel 12, during rotation of the wiper it rides down just clear of the sloping well 8 into the basin 5, i

The pockets or csvities 23 in the scoop wheel 12 moy be closed at the bottom by forming the cevities 28 only portly through the scoop wheel 12, so as to leave scoop wheel with o circulor bese 29. sheft ll may be raised and lowered during its intermittent rotation, in order to raise and lower the scoop wheel within the gloss, and for thi. purpose o. fixed crown com 30 is shown, upon which rides or roller 31 carried round with the sheft l1 and arranged to be lifted by the cam 3'0 when the cavities 23 ore in the gotherin? position immediately beneath it gathering device indicated by the dotted circle 0 in Fig. 2 in order to raise the charge of gloss to the some level forevery goi'zher.

. The gathering basin 5 may be completely covered in by e refractory srch except for apertures for the passage of the shaft ll and spindle l? and except for on eperture at the gathering position sufficient to enable u gothering device to be inserted, It will be noted also that the gathering device draws its supply of glass from a chamber formed between the wells of the cavity 23 and the outer wall 6 of the basin 5 and that the charge of glass confined in this chamber is almost entirely segregated from the glass in the basin 5 and especmlly from the partially cooled gloss remaining from the preceding gathering operation. This segregation of the charge at the gathering position from the remaining supply of glass is a feature of the present invention.

I claim:

1. The combination with a glass furnace, of a gathering basin open to the furnace, a

series of conveying means having a scoop-lik efl'ect open laterally for the reception of the glass, and means for successively movin said conveying means stepwise all around in the gathering basin in an orbital path.

2. The combination with 9. less furnace, ofa gathering basin open to ills furnace, a rotary wheel mounted on s vertical axis within said gatherin basin and having lateral eevities formed 111 its periphery, end means for intermittently rotating said wheel.

3. The combination with o gloss furnace, of o gathering basin open tothe furnace, a rotary wheel mounted on e verticsl within said athering basin and herring lateral cavities termed in its periphery, seiol cavities being concave in plan view, end for intermittently rotating said wheel.

t. The combination with Jless furnace, of s gathering basin open to tie furnace, a series of conveying means hoving'o scooplilre effect open leterolly for the reception of the gloss, and closed at the bottom, end means for successively moving soiolv conveying moons stepwise all around in the gsthering rein in on orbital nth.

5. The combination with e gloss furnace, of s. gathering basin open to furnace, a series of conveying means heving c. scoop- .lilie effect open laterally for the reception of the gloss, means for successively moving said conveying means stepwise ell sround in the gathering basin in on orbits-i poth and mechanism for raising the conveying moons at a gathering position and for lowering them into the glass where it e'nte s the basin.

6. The combination with as glass furnace, of egathering basin open to t e furnace, a series of conveying means having e. scoop-like eflect open laterally for the reception of the gloss, means for successively moving said conveying means stepwise ell sround in the gathering basin in an orbital peth end a wi ing device for wiping the gloss out of the conveying means after they have left the gathering position.

7. The combination with a. "less furnace, of a gathering basin open to the furnace, a series of conveying means having a scoop-like effect open laterally for the reception of the glass, means for successively moving said conveying) means stepwise all around in the gathering asin in an orbital path and e wiping device for wiping the glass out of the conveying means after they have left the gathering position, said wiping device projecting radially from any upright shaft, and means for moving said wiper about the axis of the shaft in timed relation to the stepwise progression of the conveying means.

8. The combination with a glass furnace, of a gathering basin open to the furnace, a series of conveying means having a scoop-like effect open laterally for the reception of the glass, means for successively moving said conveying means stepwise all around in thegathering basin in an orbital path and a wipwith. a s

conveying means after they have left the gathering osition, said wiping device pro- ]ecting ra ially from any n right shaft,'

means for movmg said wiper a out the axis of the shaft in timed relation to the stepwise progression of the conveying means, and means for alternately lowering said wiping device into and raising it clear or the conveying means in timed relation to their stepwise progression. K w 7 9. The combination with a glass furnace of a gathering basin open to the furnace a series of conveying means having a scoop-like effect open laterally for the reception of the glass, and means'ior successively moving said conveying means stepwise all around intlie gathering basin in an orbital path in timed relation with gathering devices moved in reguiar sequence into the gathering position.

10. Apparatus for circulating molten glass in gathering basin comprising a series of conveying means having a scoop-like effect open lateraiiy i'for the receptmn of glass, and mechanism for moving them successively and in a stepwise manner ad around in an orbitai path,

11. Apparatus for circnieting moiten in a gathering basin comprising a rotary wiieei having ca'ities "formed iateraiiy in and extending to the ievei of its perip A: cry, shaft on. which said wheei is positi'veiy carried, and mechani tn. for intermitlzentiy rotating said wheel 12. Apparatus as claimed in claim combine on wit; wiper, and .rnec interreiated r the Wheei rotatir nism for niovr u cause it to sweep three a mist region n q i 1 rec: where tne ans including n g1 and coop-like action, 16. in device as claimed series oi i "erail.y open cavities men for removing eny gias's' remaining in said cavities as they ieave the gathering positionc ZZZ, The combination with a glass melting in claim 13 a mosses ap aratus and a gathering basin communieating therewith, ofscoo -like means adapted to circulate the molten g ass between said apparatus and said basin in a series of separate charges and to convey said charges successively to a position registering with a. gathering device operatinp in said basin.

18. In a device as c aimed in the preceding claim, means adapted to clean said scoop-like means by an arcuate sweeping movement after said scoop-like means have passed the gathering position.

19. The combination with a gathering basin for molten glass, of a rotating member in said basin provi ed with a series of cavities, means for intermittently stopping said rotating member when any of said cavities is in registering position with a gathering device in said basin, and means for conveying the molten glass throughout the said basin in a series of charges practically confined between. the Walls of said basin and each of said cavities so that each charge be almost completely segregated from the remainder oi the glass in the basin and particularly from the partiaiiy ecoied glass remaining from the pre- 1 thering; operation.

' ony whereof i afar: my FRANCIS McN- 

